An amendment to the Copyright and Other Related Rights Act has been proposed to extend the term of copyright protection to 70 years.

The Bill was moved by Nilandhoo MP Fathimath Saudha in the session today.

The purpose of the Bill is to clarify the provisions of the Copyright and Other Related Rights Act on copyrighted works and other copyrighted rights.

It also provides for additional circumstances under which copyrighted works can be used, including the disability exemption and the non-commercial research purpose exemption, extending the period of protection for rights from 50 to 70 years and solving challenge areas in enforcement of the act.

The Bill provides for exceptional circumstances in which a permit is required in connection with a product. The Bill also provides that owners are entitled to compensation for direct damage to property and reputation caused by a person or persons infringing any rights protected under this Act and if the person incurred expenses to recover money and damages therefrom.

The Bill further states that if any person's rights protected under this Act are violated, the court shall award compensation based on the benefits received.

It also includes an offense punishable by a fine of between MVR 50,000 and MVR 300,000, depending on the gravity of the act, which will intentionally infringe a right protected under the Act or commit such act knowing that the copyright owner will suffer.

If the offense is repeated, the court has the power to impose twice the punishment for each repeated offense.

The Bill also defines what are acts of violation of the rights protected by this Act and what are illegal acts.